I fell in love with America's Cup racing when they were in Perth. I
remember staying up late at night watching these guys battle weather and
waves. The strategy and tactics involved lots of close racing with one boat
trying to block the wind of the other.
I actually learned to sail by watching the races. The things I saw on TV
were things I could duplicate when I got the chance to use a small sail
boat.
The current America's Cup boats don't act like sail boats. They are flying
above the water. The races don't seem to involve as much close racing
(although there is some, especially around the start). But, I am not
falling in love with sailing the way I did watching the earlier years.
Not sure there is a good analogy to compare radio contesting changes to the
America's Cup changes. Both show signs of technology being pushed ahead,
sometimes not always in traditional ways.
I do hope the next holder of the cup returns to more traditional boat
designs.
Randy K5ZD
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CQ-Contest [mailto:cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
> W0MU Mike Fatchett
> Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2017 2:13 PM
> To: cq-contest@contesting.com
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] America's cup Sailboat racing not what it used to
> be
>
> Did anyone watch these races? Did you notice the technology now required
> to race a sailboat?
>
> Even sailboat racing is embracing major changes to their sport. Why
> can't we?
>
> They have on board computer navigation. The course is laid out
> electronically based on the wind.
>
> It is rumored that the New Zealand boat had a computer algorithm trimming
> the sails and keeping the boat level out of the water. Yes these sail
> boats now "fly" over the water.
>
> Most of the manpower on the boats is used to generate power for their
> hydraulic systems that keep the boat riding out of the water and turning
> the sails.
>
> These boats are amazing it I really enjoyed watching the races. New
> Zealand built a great team and a great boat.
>
> New Zealand now gets to write the rules for the next running and they get
> to set the date and place of the race.
>
> W0MU
>
>
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